Construction Projects Galore
By:
Katy Flint
Franklin County Auditor
information next week).
You may have noticed that there is some construction going on at the courthouse recently. We are currently in the process of getting a new roof. Back on April 18th, we
sustained damage from the wind and hailstorm that most of Hampton had damage from and we are finally getting the roof replaced. They are also replacing the rubber membrane
spots of the roof to ensure a tight seal. This has been a 6 month + process between insurance and Iowa Code which has required us to employ an engineer for the project, and
other delays and setbacks. But we are finally here, and we are very excited.
If you follow along in the Supervisors’ minutes, you’ve probably also read something about an electrical upgrade project and a tuckpointing project. Unfortunately, when it
rains, it pours, right?! And that means, many projects to maintain our beautiful Courthouse have collided all at once.
The electrical upgrade is a project to pull new (and bigger) service into the Courthouse to be able to sustain the higher demand on the electrical service that we face
now with technology than when it was last updated (our best guess was the 1970’s when they renovated the courthouse). We don’t know what the cost of this is yet, but we do
know how important it is for our day-to-day operations and being safe (avoiding brownouts, etc.).
Next is the tuckpointing project. A reminder that our beautiful courthouse is over 130 years old and made of brick and stone. It has been needing to have some tuckpointing
done for several years and things just have gotten in the way, so now we are at a place where it REALLY needs to be done. We have a choice to either fix the bad spots or
tuckpoint the whole building. It is a difficult decision for the Supervisors as they have to way the pros and cons along with the financial implications for the County.
Finally, thanks to the April storm, we also sustained damage to three of our five statues atop the courthouse. If you aren’t aware, the statues are copper and that makes it
incredibly difficult to find a contractor who can and will work on them. Thankfully, we have found Midwest Art Conservation Center out of the twin cities who have been down and
seen the statues up close, evaluated them, and developed a plan to repair them. This work will be done this coming spring.
This is a long list of maintenance and repairs that need to be (and are going to be) addressed. The Supervisors review plans thoroughly, ask lots of questions, and form a plan
after that. They continue to work towards what is necessary to maintain our buildings and be fiscally wise about them. If you have questions about the projects, you are welcome to
contact me in my office, watch the Supervisors’ meetings on YouTube, or even attend a meeting in person. There will be many more updates to come on this, but for now, I
wanted to share what we have going on! Until next time…
Category:
Hampton Chronicle
1509 4th St NE
Hampton, IA 50441
Phone: 641-456-5656
Email: news@HamptonChronicle.com
OnTheGoMedia
